The Memory Keeper's Daughter

The setting of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards constantly changes to show the development of each of the characters. Dr. David Henry guilty of giving away his daughter is still remains in him every passing day. Norah, David’s wife, is struggling with the “death” of her daughter and the growing separation between her and her husband. As the story continues through the years, the Henry’s son, Paul is 13 and he is starting to discover his family’s hidden secrets. Caroline is still raising Paul’s twin sister, Phoebe, and determines why David gave his child to her to be given up for adoption. Phoebe has down syndrome but is still a thriving 13 year old girl with her own thoughts and emotions. Each character starts to notice their consequences to their previous actions throughout time. Dr. Henry is recognizing Norah’s grief of the loss of their daughter while their son is growing up. Everyday he continues to feel remorseful of his decision. He decides to send a letter to Caroline asking if he and Paul could meet her if it isn’t too late. David starts to lose connection with Paul as he doesn’t agree with Paul’s ambitions. He believes that it will just lead him down a path with little chance of success. Along with this, Dr. Henry notices that Norah

She starts to recognize that her relationship with her husband is getting more distant as time goes by. She continues to get frustrated with David as he doesn’t support his own son’s ambitions of becoming a musician. She gets mad at herself and her husband often because things are nowhere near the same as when they first got married. With her frustrations, Norah starts an affair with her neighbor on vacation and is careful to make sure that no one finds out. “It seemed there was no end at all to the lies a person could tell, once she got started.” She begins to notice that Paul is separating with her, like he is with